The last couple of days have been so cool and the frost warnings will continue for the next couple of days. It's a nice reminder that despite how unseasonably warm it has been and how we feel compelled to believe that "it's warm now" for the season, nature reminds us who is truly in control. Our last frost recommendation is mid-may and we would do well to respect that regardless of how persuasive mother nature has been to encourage us to believe otherwise. Our heat actually kicked on very early this morning, nudging my attitude to be a bit more flexible about our current weather patterns.
I have been watching where the sun light falls in the yard all week. I divided the planting space into three zones, a fourth zone is where the chickens and rabbits will live, along with a couple of dwarf fruit trees. I think it will be interesting to see how my recordings of light exposure change from week to week as we get closer to summer. I am also very excited to see how this information will assist me in my layout planning next year. Already I have had to rethink a few ideas when considering vegetables that like cool weather and can go into the garden early in the season. There will be casualties among some of the trees which as I have said before bothers me quite a bit. I suppose I can ease my conscience by providing something beneficial to the woods behind the house, even if its just to be "of service".
Today my grocery budget isn't what it needs to be in order to do a full shopping so I will get creative til next weekend. I actually don't have too much to prepare so I may find more time outdoors than in the kitchen. I have yogurt and granola bars to make. I may also make a recipe I came across for healthy oatmeal cookies for the school lunches this week. We have a friend coming over to spend time with my son and hopefully my mother will be here for dinner. I have some leftovers that I may spruce up. My husband made a delicious cheese lasagne the other night. As wonderful as it tastes it looks horrible in the pan now. I am thinking I could cut it up into nice squares, put them on a pretty platter for reheating. Sprinkle some fresh parsley on top and tadaa!..."freshly made" (looking) lasagne! Throw together a simple salad, and dinner doesn't appear to have been "used" already.
The only issue I have is that I really shouldn't eat the lasagne. I try to eat an almost gluten free diet. Fortunately I haven't been diagnosed with Celiac but I do know that I have some intolerance to gluten. When I eat a certain amount (amount still to be determined) I get terrible headaches, I feel fatigued, and my skin reacts badly. It took years for me to figure the connection between gluten and these symptoms but it took a recommendation of a gluten free diet from my doctor to make for me to take my suspicions seriously. What a difference this dietary change has made!! There are times where I will cheat, then I pay the price. It's almost never worth it, but humans just love to push back at our boundaries don't we?! My husband teases me and says I am the kind of person who wants what I am told I can't have, if only for the reason to prove that I am not being "bossed around" (control issues much?). He's Italian and I am Irish...both head strong and completely understanding of each others stubborn natures. It makes it easy to find support in one another but it's also really hard to get away with anything either ha! So I have to find something to prepare for dinner for myself. I did make a kale soup the other day but I'll be honest it wasn't my best work. In fact I should win an award for the performance I put on trying to make it look like I was enjoying the meal. Maybe I can think of something to alter the soup for the better....
PS: I received my used copy of Let It Rot in the mail yesterday. I love it! It's such a informative and very easy read. In fact, I no longer feel like I need anything else to provide compost bin construction plans. This little book has a few options and actually had a plan for the 3 bin system I was hoping to build. This handy little book only cost me $3.25 with shipping. No murder mysteries for me...give me a book on decomposition instead ;) I also hit the town library book sale yesterday. I picked up three books for $2.50 total. One on winterizing gardens, the other a general vegetable gardeing book, and a book by Anthony Bourdain, Nasty Bits, for my husband. His No Reservations show is our guilty pleasure viewing habit. Have a great Sunday!
